Visual Marketing: World Cup! | iContact

The World Cup is scoring big with social media in general and visual media in particular. Brands are using Instagram, Vine and Pinterest to share a personalized experience of the World Cup and to establish stronger brand memorability and sentiment through visual marketing.

Pinterest may seem an odd choice for a live event, but its relatively new “Place Pins” feature harnesses the power of a dynamic event within a more or less static image.

Brand tip: Don’t discount Pinterest simply because your subject matter isn’t predominant on the network. The work with the World Cup shows that even sports can win big on a site where fashion and food are the expected players.

Adidas gives a sense of history while placing a product front and center in its Vine video:

Brand tip: Six seconds is plenty of time to give a sense of your brand and what it stands for. Think about what is most essential to and about your brand and showcase it in a Vine. Vine also is popular for celebrating success; in this one, Robin van Persie is given a cape to show off his “superhero” capabilities.

Brand tip: Use Vine’s stop-motion capabilities to its fullest potential. Creativity, not realism, is often the ticket to success with the network.

Celebrities are endorsing the World Cup as evidenced by Conan O’Brien’s #selfie:

Brand tip: You can ask for celebrity endorsements, but it’s always better to tap into an existing affinity or to give a celebrity a tangible reason for endorsing an event. O’Brien, for example, took the photo because he already had the jersey.

Football players continue to give glimpses into what their world looks like off the field. The Belgium squad has no worries before an upcoming match, and Clint Dempsey of the United States celebrates his other role – that of dad to three kids.

Brand tip: Put a human face on your event. You may be providing some of the best information in the world, but nobody is going to care if they can’t relate to it through the lens of another human being.

FIFA has joined Instagram, too. Unlike the football players who are sharing in-the-moment photos, the official World Cup account is curating the best imagery.

Brand tip: Instagram is a great tool for curation. Get your audience involved in content creation and reward the best creations with a shout-out or other prize.

Finally, the World Cup has gone where no man has ever gone before: space. The United States and Germany decided it would be fun to participate in the football excitement before the two countries faced each other on the field.

Brand tip: Embrace a sense of play. If you don’t have fun creating your content, your audience won’t have any fun consuming it.